Hunting Burmese Pythons

IT IS AN IMPOSSIBLE JOB TO GET THE EXACT NUMBER OF BURMESE PYTHONS LURKING IN THE EVERGLADES. RESEARCHERS BELIEVE OVER 30,000 OF THE INVASIVE SNAKES LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. BUT THEIR REMOTE HIDING SPOTS MAKE TRACKING THEM DOWN. VERY DIFFICULT. BUT ONCE AGAIN, FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE IS GETTING AHEAD OF THE STATE CRISIS WITH THE ANNUAL PYTHON CHALLENGE. AND THIS WGCUS TEDDY BYRNE LEARNED FWC IS HOPING FOR YET ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING HUNT. >> FOR MORE ON THIS YEAR'S PYTHON HUNT AND THE THREAT, THE INVASIVE SPECIES HAVE ON SOUTH FLORIDA'S ECOSYSTEM. I AM JOINED BY KODIAK, HENCE THE BACK AND INTER AGENCY. PYTHON MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR WITH FWC. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. YEAH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. SO REGISTRATION FOR THIS YEAR'S EVENT HAS JUST OPENED. HOW IMPORTANT HAS THIS ANNUAL TRADITION BECOME IN HELPING CLEAR OUT BURMESE PYTHONS? >> YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY BEEN BECOMING A A LARGER PART OF PYTHON MANAGEMENT IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT EVENT NOT ONLY FOR REMOVING PYTHONS ON A YEARLY BASIS, BUT ALSO FOR ENGAGING THE PUBLIC AND REALLY SPREADING AWARENESS ABOUT THIS GROWING PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. >> SO THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK PEOPLE THINK OF THE EVERGLADES, THEY'LL THINK, WELL, IT'S EASILY A HOME OF REPTILES AND LIZARDS. BUT FOR ANYONE THAT'S UNFAMILIAR WITH THE BURMESE PYTHON, HOW DID THEY GET INTO SOUTH FLORIDA AND WHY IS THEIR INCLUSION IN THE EVERGLADES? SUCH A BIG DEAL THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. >> THEY HAVE BEEN HERE FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW. THEY WERE ORIGINALLY INTRODUCED BACK IN THE 70'S AND 80'S. PRIMARILY THROUGH THE PET TRADE. AND HAVE BEEN SLOWLY ESTABLISHING OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL DECADES THEY'RE REALLY AN ISSUE BECAUSE WE'VE NEVER HAD A SPECIES OF SNAKE THIS LARGE IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND ITS HISTORY. SO THEY'RE REALLY POSING A THREAT TO A LOT OF OUR OUR NATIVE SPECIES THAT THEY. CONSUME FOR THEIR OWN SURVIVAL. AND SO WE'RE SEEING PRETTY EXTENSIVE IMPACTS IN A LOT OF OUR OUR NATIVE MAMMAL SPECIES IN PARTICULAR, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE BIRD SPECIES THAT WE HAVE. >> AND I KNOW LAST YEAR'S HUNT REMOVED A COMPETITION RECORD 294 INVASIVE PYTHONS. I BELIEVE TOTAL IN THE EVENT'S HISTORY. IT'S HAD OVER 1000 REMOVALS. SO DOES THIS IMPACT FROM THE HUNT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN STOPPING THE PYTHON POPULATION IS FROM INCREASE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION. >> I THINK IT'S A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, RIGHT? SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IS GOING ON. EVERY PYTHON REMOVED HELPS BECAUSE THEY DO CONSUME SO MANY OF OUR NATIVE SPECIES. I THINK THE THE PRIMARY GOAL FOR THE PIKE ON CHALLENGE IN ITSELF BECAUSE IT IS ONLY A 10 DAY EVENT IS REALLY FOR FOR OUTREACH. EDUCATION, SPREADING AWARENESS. YOU KNOW, WE BRING AND INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE TO THIS EVENT THAT KIND OF OPENS PEOPLE, EYES ACROSS THE WORLD ABOUT THE PYTHON PROBLEM THAT WE'RE HAVING IN FLORIDA. SO IT REALLY DOES A GOOD JOB OF EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW THEY CAN HELP AND HOW THEY CAN GET INVOLVED. >> AND THEN SO WHAT IS THE GOAL FOR THIS YEAR'S EVENT? ARE YOU HOPING FOR ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING YEAR OR HAVE YOU SEEN MAYBE THE NUMBERS OF THE PYTHONS GETTING UNDER CONTROL? SO THAT MAY BE A LOWER NUMBER COULD ACTUALLY BE SEEN AS A POSITIVE. >> THAT CERTAINLY YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY ONE OF THESE YEARS WILL START SEEING A TREND LIKE THAT. BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER RECORD BREAKING NUMBER OF REMOVALS WILL BE GREAT. YOU KNOW. EVEN IF WE CAN GET PAST THE 250, EVEN 300 PYTHONS REMOVE THIS YEAR. MARK, IT WOULD BE FANTASTIC. >> AND THEN BESIDES THIS ANNUAL HUNT, I KNOW THAT THIS YEAR THERE'S BEEN NEW TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED TO HELP KIND OF CONTROL THE POPULATION. THERE WAS A STORY I BELIEVE LATE LAST YEAR ABOUT REMOTE CONTROL RABBITS BEING RELEASED INTO THE EVERGLADES. AND THEN WE TALKED WITH ONE GROUP THAT IS USING INFRARED TO TRY TO TRACK NESTS. SO WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE BY FWC AND THEIR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP KIND OF CONTROL DOES POPULATION AND GET THINGS UNDER CONTROL. SO THE EVERGLADES CAN RETURN TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE. >> YEAH, THIS IS REALLY ONE OF THOSE ISSUES WERE. >> WE HAVE TO COME AT IT FROM FROM EVERY ANGLE THAT WE CAN. >> SO THEN GOES OUT TO SEA TO REMOVE PYTHONS. BUT WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE ULTIMATELY BEST WAY TO DO THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BRINGING IN ALL KINDS OF PARTNERS, ALL KINDS OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT STRATEGIES GOING TO BE THE BEST MOVING FORWARD. AND THEN FOR ANYBODY THAT >> IS INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT PYTHONS OR MAYBE THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED IN THE HUNT. WHERE CAN THEY GO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS YEAR'S FLORIDA PYTHON CHALLENGE? >> YES, WE HAVE A WEBSITE SET UP SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CHALLENGE. YOU CAN FIND IT AT FL PYTHON CHALLENGE DOT ORG AND IT'LL GO THROUGH ALL OF THE RULES AND REGULATIONS YOU NEED TO KNOW. SO PROVIDED INFORMATION ON HOW TO REGISTER AND IT WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE PYTHON PROBLEM AS WELL AS WELL AS LINKS TO OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION. >> KODIAK HENCE THE BACK FROM FWC. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK TO US TODAY.